1: Hermione and the Quidditch Match
by I don't write HP fics anymore
Summary: Hermione is in love with Harry, and can't bear to see him risk his life for sport...


1: Hermione and the Quidditch Match   
By Kate

Hermione woke up early, for no particular reason, on a warmish May Saturday morning in her sixth year at Hogwarts. She sat up, with the vague idea of doing some homework. She grabbed her hand mirror off her table, and after looking into it, wished she hadn't. Her hair was sticking out in every direction imaginable, and she could go shopping with the bags under her eyes. Now was one of the times she understood the point of makeup, although she didn't own any. 

Half heartedly trying to flatten it, she ran the brush through her hair. She pulled on her usual black Hogwarts robes, which she decided look hideous on her. Pulling her books from her trunk and grabbing a few rolls of parchment and a quill, she headed downstairs to the commonroom. 

The commonroom was completely deserted, which was not surprising considering it was two hours until the 'oh my god I'm going to be late' stage. Spreading herself out over one of the small tables, Hermione got started on her Muggle Studies homework, which was due in on Monday. The assignment was to write a roll of parchment on "The use of electricity in the Muggle home." As Hermione was a Muggle until she was 11, she had a fair idea what electricity was. 

_Electricity is a Muggle invention that can power things such as lights, televisions..._

Half an hour later Hermione was nearing the end of her parchment, and was in the middle of explaining about black-outs, when foot steps coming down the stone steps made her look up. Ginny Weasley was wearing her shabby black robes, and looking rather happy about something. 

"Morning!" Hermione called, making Ginny jump. Ginny looked around, and, spotting Hermione, placed a hand over her heart, as if to say Hermione gave her a heart attack. 

"Oh, good morning!" Ginny said, walking over and sitting next to her. "What are you doing?" She asked, looking at the papers scattered over the table. 

"Homework," Hermione replied, and grinned at Ginny. 

"Honestly, Hermione, you are the only person who would get up early to do homework. And on a Saturday, too!," Ginny chuckled. Hermione smiled good-naturedly at her. 

"Well, there's Quidditch this afternoon, and I don't want to have to bother tomorrow. Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. It'll be a walkover, I bet." Hermione explained. 

"That's no excuse!" Ginny joked. 

"So, what's new with you, Ginny?" Hermione asked, putting her quill down and turning to Ginny. 

"Oh, nothing," said Ginny, blushing. Hermione raised her eyebrows. 

"Really?" Hermione asked, giving Ginny a knowing look. 

"Well...there _is_ something..." Ginny blushed harder. 

"Okay, out with it!" Hermione insisted. 

"We-ell...can you keep a secret?" Hermione rolled her eyes, and nodded. "There is this one boy..." Ginny hid her face. 

"Ooh, who is it? Can I guess?" Hermione asked, and Ginny nodded, giggling too hard to speak. "Let's see...um...Seamus? Dean? Is he in my year?" Ginny nodded again. "I know! NEVILLE!" Hermione exclaimed. Ginny giggled so hard Hermione thought she would explode. 

"Well, in that case, I give up! Who is he?" Hermione asked. 

"Errr...okay...but he's not really...someone you'd expect I just kinda...I mean..." Ginny stuttered. 

"Are you going to tell me or not, huh?" Hermione asked, folding her arms across her chest. 

"Mmmhmmm," Ginny mumbled. 

"What?" Hermione asked. 

"Harry..." Ginny said, her hair going a red as her hair. 

"Harry?" Hermione said quietly. "As in, Harry Potter?" 

"Yeah....he's so cute..." Ginny said dreamily. "Okay," she said looking at Hermione, "your turn!" 

"What do you mean, my turn? Maybe I don't like anyone..." Hermione said. Actually, she did, but she didn't think she was ready to tell anyone. Good grief, she thought. Not ready? I've liked him for six years! 

"Hermione? Are you okay? You just kinda went silent for a bit..." Ginny asked. 

"Hmmmm?" Hermione asked, tearing her eyes away from the empty fireplace, which she was staring at whilst thinking. 

"Well, who is it?" Ginny asked. 

"No one" Hermione muttered. 

"Come on...I told _you_," Ginny complained. "You always--"Hermione never got to find out what she always did, as Harry appeared at the foot of the stairs. 

"Good morning!" Harry said, sitting on the other side of Hermione. Hermione tried not to notice that Harry's leg was touching hers. "Homework again, Hermione?" He said, grinning at Hermione. Hermione gave him a half smile. 

"Well, I'd better go, you know things to do, people to see," Ginny said, standing up. "See you later." And Ginny climbed out of the portrait hole. 

Harry picked up Hermione's Muggle Studies textbook and laughed. "I never really saw the point of a Muggle-born taking Muggle Studies." 

"Hmph. And I suppose you'll be Head Boy with your marks!" 

"Are you saying you want to be Head Girl?" Harry teased. 

"Maybe I do! So what?" Hermione asked. "Don't you want to be Head Boy?" Hermione and Harry always fooled around like this, in a friendly/flirty way. Hermione sometimes wondered if Harry felt the same as she did. "I mean, you're famous...all that stuff about saving the world...you're the best Seeker in years, and you're not exactly hideous..." Hermione blushed. 

Harry pretended to fluff out his hair. "Thanks, Hermione." Harry gave her him million-dollar-smile. 

"C'mon, let's go to breakfast," Hermione said, grabbing Harry by the hand and pulling him up. 

It was the perfect day for Quidditch; not cold, but not too hot. The skies were clear, and there was no chance of rain, unless the game went of for two days, like last time. 

The game was scheduled for two o'clock, so they are a quick lunch at noon. Ron was talking animatedly about a new defensive technique he had been reading about, while Harry nodded, occasionally saying, "yeah," but Hermione, stealing glances at him, knew he wasn't listening. Hermione glanced across the table, where Ginny was sitting, her long red hair almost in her soup, staring at Harry. Hermione sighed. At least she wasn't the only one. 

"Hermione?" Harry's voice broke through her thoughts. 

"Yeah?" 

"What are you thinking about?" Harry asked. Ron looked annoyed, as he was in the middle of a sentence. 

"Oh...stuff..." Hermione said evasively. As if she would tell him what she was thinking. 

"Mmm, real specific," Harry commented. "No, really, what were you thinking?" Harry persevered. 

"I was thinking about..." Hermione cast her mind around. "How gross this...thing is," Hermione said, picking up some sort of vegetable with her fork. It _was_ pretty gross. "What were _you_ thinking about?" Hermione asked. 

"Now, that's a very personal question!" Harry remarked. "Actually, I was wondering why Ginny was staring at me," Harry confessed. Hermione giggled as she glanced over at Ginny. "And why you were looking at me, too," Harry added, grinning slyly at Hermione, went red. "I have to go get ready for Quidditch, now anyway," Harry told her and stood up. 

"See you on the match." 

At one thirty Hermione, with Ron in tow, headed out to the Quidditch pitch to get good seats. When they arrived, the pitch was deserted. 

"Harry's probably giving them his pep talk now," Ron said. Harry took being Quidditch captain almost as seriously as Wood used to. The previous year Harry had been made the Quidditch captain of Gryffindor, as Wood had left. Fred and George had been jealous, but they got over it. Harry now had a whole new team. He was still the Seeker, and Seamus was the Keeper. Three fifth years were the Chasers, Chelsea Roberts, Kyle Jackson and Miranda Presscot. The Beaters were a pair of very solid forth years, Cary and James. They made up a pretty good team, and had won almost all of their matches so far. Harry, as usual, kept the crowd happy by performing spectacular dives for the snitch. Harry had also taken to doing some flips and loop-the-loops whilst looking for the Snitch. 

"Here they come," Ron announced as they reached their seats. Harry and the rest of the team were walking out of the dressing rooms, in their scarlet robes and carrying their broomsticks. Harry's broom was top-of-the-range, as usual, and the others' weren't too bad. 

Hermione couldn't help but notice how good Harry looking in his brand new robes. 

"Hey, Harry! Over here!" Ron said, jumping up and waving his arms around. Harry looked up and waved. 

"Hi Ron, hi Hermione!" He called, mounting his broom and speeding towards them in the stands. He pulled up just in time, and grabbed hold of the railing. 

"How's the team?" Hermione asked. 

"Mmm, okay...but we're having some...er...motivationalproblems," Harry admitted. This wasn't the first time. Miranda, although a great player, had the tendency to be very cynical and pessimistic, and sometimes brought the spirits of the team to a grinding halt. 

Behind Harry, the team was beginning to warm up, passing the Quaffle back and forth. Harry turned to watch them. Kyle was passing to Chelsea, who wasn't paying attention. It sailed past her, and towards the ground. Not missing a beat, Harry went into a dive, and caught it only feet off the ground. He sailed back up to be level with the other players, and passed it to them. Hermione clapped loudly and cheered. Harry tried to take a bow on his broom, but ended up doing a flip. The entire team began to laugh. 

"Okay, okay, enough fooling around," Harry announced, his face bearing a reddish tinge. "We need to practice." Hermione had a feeling that the reason for this was because the Hufflepuff team had appeared, brooms in hand. 

Hermione glanced at her watch, and was surprised to see that the game was scheduled to start in ten minutes. She looked around and noticed that the stands were filling up quickly. Several Hufflepuffs had brought large flags with the badger of it; the Hufflepuff animal. Nearly the entire Gryffindor house had turned up, Hermione noticed. It w_as_ an important game for the Gryffindors: if they won, they would go into the final, against Ravenclaw, who had won the previous match against Slytherin, yo everyone's delight, which was the closest match all year. 

"Shake hands!" Madame Hooch announced, and Harry glided over to the Hufflepuff Captain, a seventh year called Eric. As they shook hands, Harry muttered something to Eric, who laughed. _Good_, Hermione thought,_ this won't be a grudge match_. 

At Madame Hooch's whistle, Harry shot off the ground and into the air, high above the rest of the players. Hermione could tell he was already looking for the Snitch. A cheer went up--Chelsea had scored a goal. Gryffindor were now leading, 10-0. Hufflepuff were now in possession, and they were trying to get it up their end as fast as possible. One of their Chasers, a girl in about fourth year, lobbed the ball down the pitch, where one of her team mates was waiting. It came closer and closer to him...but Kyle had jumped in front of him and intercepted the ball, causing the Hufflepuff supporters to groan loudly. Kyle sped quickly up the pitch, until two Chasers were following him, leaving one Miranda free, near the goal posts. He threw it directly to her, and she put it through. 

"Ten points to Gryffindor," The commentator, a Hufflepuff sixth year, called. "Gryffindor leading, twenty to nil." Hermione hid her smile. If they continued in this way, it would be a walk-over. 

Five minutes later, it was Gryffindor 50, Hufflepuff 10. Hermione joined in the cheering every time they scored a goal. There was still no sign of the Snitch. The Hufflepuff Seeker, whose name Hermione didn't know, was keeping close on Harry's tail, only a foot or two behind him. 

Suddenly Harry went into a sharp dive, and the Hufflepuff Seeker followed. Hermione craned her neck looking for the Snitch. She couldn't see it. Harry suddenly pulled out of the dive, and sped upwards. He reached into the air and appeared to snatch something. 

"HE'S GOT THE SNITCH!" Ron bellowed, jumping up and down. 

"That was the thing Viktor did at the Cup, wasn't it?" Hermione asked Ron. He didn't hear her, though, for he was still shouting. 

Harry was zooming around the pitch, holding his closed fist in the air. The roar was almost deafening, but Hermione still joined in. Eventually Harry slowly spiralled down to the ground, and the team mobbed him, slowly moving towards the dressing room. 

While Hermione and Ron were waiting for Harry to get dressed, Ron kept talking about the game. 

"...and that move at the end, that was pure genius...we've got a pretty good team this year...we're in the final!" And Hermione nodded and agreed, but wasn't really listening. 

"Here's the man himself!" Ron exclaimed, as Harry appeared on the pitch, wearing his normal clothes and carrying hid broom. Hermione and Ron walked down to the pitch, Ron still blabbering about the game. 

"Congrats, Harry," Hermione said when they reached him. "That was really spectacular, that thing at the end." 

"Thanks," he replied. 

Several hours later, the party was still raging in the Gryffindor Commonroom. It was strange the was music seemed to be coming from nowhere. Hermione pointed this out to Ron, who frowned for a moment, the grinned. 

"Come on, Hermione, this is a party; it doesn't have to make sense!" Ron laughed, grabbing her hand. "Want to dance?" He asked, not waiting for an answer. Hermione had never really danced before, except at home. She blushed, and danced self consciously. The song ended soon, and Ron went and sat down, puffed from his exuberant dancing. Hermione was about to follow suit when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned, and saw Neville, looking rather embarrassed. 

"Hi, Hermione...do you want to dance?" Neville asked. 

"Well, I was going to sit this one out--" Neville's face fell "--but I guess so," Hermione hastily added. Neville grinned and followed Hermione into an empty spot on the floor. 

Neville's dancing terrible, to say the least. Hermione's poor feet could barely stand being stepped on once more. 

"Oops, sorry!" Neville had said about five times, and Hermione assured him it would be okay. 

"Hey, Neville, have you ever considered taking dancing lessons?" Hermione said, grimacing as Neville stepped on her toes again. 

"Why? Do you think I'm good at it?" He asked, beaming. That wasn't what Hermione meant, but she forced a smile. 

Eventually the song ended and Hermione limped off to sit down on a couch. The next song came on, a fast one called 'the witching hour' by Celestina Warbeck. Hermione watch Ron dance with a giggling second year, and Harry dance with... 

Ginny. Ginny was blushing as Harry spun her around, while Ginny giggled madly. Ginny caught sight of Hermione and gave her a thumbs up. Hermione tried to smile, but wasn't very successful. Harry dipped Ginny very suddenly, and almost dropped her. Hermione almost laughed. As the song was drawing to a close, Ginny separated from Harry and sat down next to Hermione. 

"What a dancer!" She exclaimed, and in spite of herself, Hermione laughed. "I _told _you he was so _cute_! Oh, and how he plays Quidditch--he's practically a professional!" Ginny gushed. 

"Mmm," Hermione mumbled as Neville approached her again. _Oh, no...she_ thought,_ not again!_

"Ginny? Can I have this dance?" Neville asked, and Hermione let out the breath she had been holding. 

"Err..um," Ginny shot a pleaful look at Hermione. 

"She'd love to!" Hermione said sweetly, and Neville dragged Ginny off as Hermione laughed. 

"That was nice," a voice said from behind her. She whirled around and saw Harry, leaning against the back of the sofa. 

"I know. Don't they make a cute couple?" Hermione joked, looking over to them where they were dancing awkwardly. 

"Want to dance?" Harry caught her by surprise. 

"Me?" Hermione asked. 

"Yeah...you," Harry said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the dance floor. 

"But I can't dance..." she muttered as the song that was playing ended and a slow song came on. 

"Here, just put your arms around my shoulders like that...and ta da! We're danceing," Harry said, putting his arms around her waist. They swayed back and forth slowly. 

Hermione couldn't help but notice they were inching closer together. 

_Ahh,_ she thought,_ now _this _is where I belong_... 

**THE END**[][1]

Hey, everyone and fanfic.net. I am trying to decide whether to stop this series or not. PLZ email me at [HPotter_Fan@hotmail.com][2] and tell me what ya think I should do.

[Home ][3]  
[[www.geocities.com/hermioneforever/index.htm]][3]

   [1]: main.htm
   [2]: mailto:HPotter_Fan@hotmail.com
   [3]: http://www.geocities.com/hermioneforever/index.htm]



End file.
